THE Raploch scheme in Stirling is infamous for being one of the most deprived in Scotland.

THE Raploch scheme in Stirling is infamous for being one of the most deprived in Scotland.

So it’s not surprising to hear that four years ago just one child among 3000 people living on the estate was learning a musical instrument.

Now, however, an astonishing 450 kids from the scheme are part of an orchestra.

That’s 75 per cent of all the primary schoolkids in Raploch.

And it’s all down to the work of Sistema Scotland – a charity set up to change lives through music. The charity were inspired by El Sistema – an orchestra formed in 1975 in Venezuela to help kids improve their lives through playing in a symphony orchestra.

Now, four years after Sistema Scotland were established, the children are preparing to host one of the biggest outdoor classical concerts ever held in Scotland.

Up to 130 children from the scheme will play Beethoven under the direction of superstar conductor Gustavo Dudamel – the director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

The concert will be beamed across the UK live on 22 giant screens, and watched around the world. It will also be broadcast on BBC4.

It’s quite an achievement in just four years.

Sistema Scotland spokesman George Anderson said: “The place is now saturated in classical music. If you throw a stone in Raploch you’ll hit a cellist or a trombonist.

“Now these children are going to play with one of best orchestras in the world, live on TV.

“Our aim is to show off these kids. We’re saying to Scotland, ‘Look at your children and what they can do’.

“You will be amazed what these children are capable of.”

Raploch’s Big Noise orchestra were inspired by a movement in Venezuela, which aimed to improve children’s confidence and life skills through music.

George said: “In 1975, this guy in Venezuela, maestro José Antonio Abreu, a former politician and oil industry economist, started teaching a handful of children in one of the shanty towns how to play music.

“There were a dozen to begin with and today there are more than 350,000 children in what is known as El Sistema.

“The aim is to create a musical community for children from all backgrounds so they can find their place in life and learn how to be a citizen.

“It wasn’t done for the music, it was to give the kids a better life.

“But the side-effect of this is that Venezuela has produced an absolutely amazing crop, 35 years on, of absolutely stunning classical musicians.”

In 2008, Richard Holloway, the former Bishop of Edinburgh and the chairman of the Scottish Arts Council, heard about El Sistema.

After visiting the South American country, he came back to Scotland determined to do the same.

George said: “Richard was overawed by what he saw. Richard decided, we’ve got to have this in Scotland.”

Sistema Scotland were established in 2008 and a five-year trial was sanctioned for Raploch. The Stirling scheme was chosen as it was under regeneration and Sistema fitted in perfectly with the plans for the area.

They started as a summer school in 2008, with 30 children playing string instruments five mornings a week.

Now, as they approach their fourth birthday, 450 children are part of the Big Noise Orchestra – from tots to teenagers.

George said: “We do a couple of sessions a week in the nursery and in primary one.

“The children spend three afternoons a week with us, the elite do an extra day. They are learning music, very hard music. Not just banging things and making noise.

“They are learning to read music to a high standard by the age of five and play in a symphony orchestra.”

The children play a wide range of instruments, from violins and double bass, to flutes, clarinets and tubas. The impact on their lives has been incredible.

A Scottish Government report on the subject found 100 per cent of parents thought their children were more confident, 93 per cent thought they were happier and 79 per cent thought they had improved concentration after joining the orchestra.

George said: “The orchestra teaches people how to co-operate and get along with each other.

“They are learning something that is hard to do and they get status when they crack it, which gives them such confidence.”

And now, next month, the children will showcase their talents to the nation.

Their live midsummer’s night concert will signal the beginning of the London 2012 pre-Olympic festival. Fittingly, the concert will be held on the site of Raploch’s old primary school, marking a break with the past.

George said: “The most poignant part of the night will be when our elite players play side by side with the Venezuelans.

“It’s a piece by Beethoven, which is called Egmont. There won’t be a dry eye in the house.”

In preparation for their big day, the kids of Raploch are busy rehearsing.

George said: “We tell the kids to think of themselves as Olympic runners. You work hard and stay focused to do your best on the night.

“Being on that stage will be like an athlete standing on a podium with a gold medal.”